July 5th Course Update (Sort of Long)

The past month has taken a toll on everyone and everything.  Thankfully we finally broke the dry spell last week, but the heat and humidity are still causing some trouble.  In general, the course fared well through the month of June, but signs of damage will be evident for the rest of the summer.  Cart traffic through wilted turf is probably the most obvious blemish from the past few weeks, but there are a lot of "hidden" issues that the staff and I are battling daily.  

A little rain and a light dose of fertilizer 

IRRIGATION

The irrigation system has been struggling for a few weeks while we wait on a replacement PM pump.  This is smallest of the three pumps we have and it's function is to maintain pressure in the system.  Miles of pipe throughout the property are under constant pressure.  If we are using a hose or filling the sprayer, then the PM pump kicks in and keeps pressure up.  When we irrigate the course or are running multiple hoses at once, the bigger pump(s) kick in and help out.  Having no PM pump means the big pumps are running much more than they should and starting/stopping often.  To alleviate this issue, we have to keep water running during the day so the big pumps don't cycle on/off too much.  We do this by opening a pond valve somewhere.  We shut it down every evening so that we can irrigate the course that night.  This has been a time consuming and expensive (electric bill) process so we hope the PM pump is replaced soon.  

Irrigation coverage is spotty at best and during the dry spell there were plenty of examples of this.  Some areas get too wet and some get almost no water.  Wind, head spacing, 30 year old sprinkler heads, and a host of other variables make it impossible for an irrigation system to provide 100% coverage uniformity. It's a decent supplement to rain, but an awful substitute for rain.  When we go more than two weeks without rain in the summer, things will get messy in this area.  We have a handful of small leaks, broken heads, and broken wires to attend to over the next few weeks.  

GREENS

I'm very happy with the greens at the moment, but have to be careful not to jinx anything.  It's a long summer and things can change in a hurry.  We're in season two of our new approach to aeration, topdressing, fertility, and moisture management and it seems to be helping.  Last week's rain and heat slowed green speeds down by creating a flush of unwanted top growth, but we are at the point where speed is not the goal.  Trying to get through Labor Day with good grass is the main priority for now.   We are in prime position for root diseases and general decline, but are on top of everything we can control.  

We are in good shape considering the heat and traffic

PROJECTS

We spent a few days replacing worn out turf around collars this week.  We have a lot left, but should be able to knock it out in another week or two.  These are areas where bentgrass from the collar has crept outward over time.  While controlling winter weeds in the zoysia earlier this year, we opted to go ahead and spray out some of this bentgrass.  We knew it would create a job for us this summer so now that the zoysia is growing like crazy, we are making the repairs.  Since there is no Meyer zoysia sod farm anywhere within a days drive, we are robbing it from hole 3.  We will regrow the area on 3 as soon as we complete this project.  

Remains of where bentgrass once lived

Removing contaminated and/or dead grass

EQUIPMENT

Our new triplex(tee and green) mowers will arrive Monday along with a spiker for fairways.  We are trading in our 3 Toro triplex mowers for 3 much newer, but used,  John Deere units (off lease from Winged Foot) and one new John Deere.  This will allow us to triplex greens more often instead of relying so heavily on walk mowers.  The walk mowers take 4 staff (usually teenagers that are not available most of the year) while the triplex can be 1 or 2.  The fairway spiker will allow us to avoid the hassle of scheduling the contractor every summer and dealing with the many headaches that that can bring.  Golf calendars and weather usually conspire against us it seems so having our own unit will give us much better flexibility and save us money.  Spiking is different than aerating, but with regular use should be as good or better than a once a year aeration.  We have not pulled a core when aerating fairways in almost 10 years and believe this is perfectly ok based on the evidence.  The lone piece of equipment we are anxiously awaiting is a Toro approach mower.  We are told "next year" for that so for now we are struggling to stay ahead of play with the one unit.  Expanding some areas over the past few years has made it tough to keep up with play so we are best with one more mower on approaches (the zoysia areas around and in front of the green)

A FEW REQUESTS...

Ryan, Will, Cody, and I have been tied to hoses almost daily for 10-12 hours a day 7 days a week for the past month.  It's been intense both physically and mentally, but I'm really proud of how well things look.  You'll see us more often than you'd like, but we will do our best to avoid slowing you down.  When the course is packed and there are lots of singles and twosomes (no gaps between groups) it's impossible to avoid small delays.  There are a lot of new folks playing this summer who may not be familiar with how to proceed when they see staff on a green.  The main thing to remember is to NEVER hit a shot to a green that someone is standing on.  Staff should be treated the same way other golfers are in this regard.  Wait patiently until we are off the green before hitting a shot.  The water coming out of the hose is very loud and yelling "Fore" is probably not effective.  We know you're there and are hustling to get out of the way.  Pace of play is generally pretty slow in these situations, so chances are you'll still be waiting on the group ahead of you on the next green.  

When using the practice tee please be mindful of how you impact the summer ahead of us.  Being careful in how you practice can make a huge difference.  Make divots, but make them the right way....

YES

NO

Cart traffic on hot and/or dry days is painful.  Please avoid "following the leader".  Do not drive in the rough unless you are getting from the path to the fairway or vice versa.  Never drive in the rough on the "far side" of the hole and always get back to the path before you pass the second white topped post.  Park all your tires on the path when stopping at greens and tees and avoid passing parked carts in the turf at tees and greens.  If you are a foursome using four carts or a threesome using three carts, please keep two of those carts on the path on each hole.  Pairing up saves you time and alleviates stress on the turf so we appreciate that whenever you are willing.  

Understandably, the Member Guest Shootout is one of those times
when carts are everywhere.  But it is a good example for what happens 
when carts travel through wilted turf.  It will buff out in a few weeks/months